Tw: Violence, drugging, language.
Kamino was crowded, no doubt about it.
There were the Kaminoans, the Jedi who visited, the civilians who joined the GAR, and of course the clones. Yes, there was no doubt about it, Kamino was crowded.
That nearly killed Karina.
It all began with Wolffe calling a close friend.
"Rex," Wolffe greeted, letting the tension disappear from his shoulders. "I need some advice."
Rex held up a hand. "One second, please." He turned away and stepped out of view.
Wolffe patiently waited for Rex to return to the holoprojector, drumming his fingers on the helmet in his grasp.
"I'm back," Rex wearily said as he stepped into view again. "So, what did you need?"
Something crashed in the background before Wolffe could respond and Rex cursed.
"What's happening?" Wolffe asked, showing a hint of concern.
"Give me another second," Rex tiredly requested, vanishing again.
Wolffe sighed and examined the visor on his helmet. It was filthy and he needed to clean it soon, but he'd been so busy lately.
"Sorry," Rex apologized, slumping into his chair, back in Wolffe's sight. "It's been so busy lately."
"Are you okay?" Wolffe questioned.
Rex groaned and his shoulders shook as he sobbed. "I can't take this any longer!"
"What is it?" Wolffe craned his neck as if he could see around Rex.
"We captured some general," Rex told him, glancing behind him. "She's escaped a couple times so she always has to be watched. I'm stuck with her."
Wolffe could hear faint shouting in the background and raised an eyebrow. "Is she that bad?"
Rex's jaw clenched. "She's infuriating. But she'll be gone soon." He angrily whispered something to her before turning his attention back to Wolffe. "Anyway, why'd you call?"
"I need some advice," Wolfe admitted.
"What's up?" Rex asked before whipping around and launching himself at her, yelling something about shutting her up.
"Maybe I should go," Wolffe said in amusement.
"No." Rex pulled himself up to the chair, patting. "It's fine."
"What did you do to her?" Wolffe flicked on his datapad to see the time. He had a bit longer until it was time to check on Karina.
"Gagged her. Anyway, why did you call?" Rex looked peaceful, ignoring the muffled screaming behind him.
"I don't think you're the right person to talk to about this," Wolffe decided. "But good luck with her."
Rex chuckled. "Bye. I'll let you know if anything happens with Coda, but feel free to call anytime."
Wolffe grinned. "Bye."
So the connection was severed, and Wolffe went to check in on Karina.
A week later, Karina had fully recovered and was back to work. Deto was long gone, and Karina was hard at work, trying to do her job and his.
It was a stressful time, which would only get worse.
"How's it going?" Warthog asked Karina as he walked over.
Karina tried to wipe the grease from her forehead, only succeeding in smearing it. "Busy. There's a lot to do."
Warthog hummed and leaned against the engine she was working on. "You picked up mechanics quickly."
"I learn fast." Karina bent over to reach something at the base of the cooling system. She fell over and got stuck in the engine, shrieking for help.
Warthog tugged her free. "Have you seen Wolffe lately? He's been acting weird."
Karina frowned, placing a finger on her chin. "I guess I haven't. He's been saying he's busy and he's been skipping meals with me."
"You should talk to him," Warthog said. He propped himself up against the engine, gazing around the hanger. "I would, but I think he'd rip my head off."
"I'll give it a try," Karina agreed, shooing him away from the section she needed to work on. "How's he been with the cadets?"
"He's actually been not bad with them. I think it's because they're getting better so he can't find as many flaws," Warthog mused aloud.
"Hey, I'm here to replace the fired mechanic."
Karina glanced up, meeting a smiling green Twi'lek with a scar along their lip. "Hello. I'm Karina."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Karina. I'm Vornia." The Twi'lek held out a hand.
Karina shook it, returning the friendly grin. "I look forward to working with you."
"I'm Warthog," Warthog interrupted.
"Hi, Warthog," Vornia greeted, placing a hand on their hip. "I'm starving, does anyone know where the cafeteria is?"
"I'll take you!" Warthog eagerly volunteered.
Karina watched them walk off together, shaking her head before returning to her work. She managed to reattach the engine to the ship it had came from before going to visit Wolffe in his office.
"Wolffe?" Karina called as she knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"
Wolffe opened the door, staring down at her. "I'll need just about to go to dinner. Want to come?"
Karina nodded. "I wanted to talk to you about that. You've been missing meals with me."
Wolffe sighed. "Sorry, Karina," he regretfully said, "but it's been so busy."
"I get it." Karina squeezed Wolffe's hand. "I've been pretty busy too. But hopefully now that Deto's replacement is here, I might catch a break."
"Deto's replacement is here?" Wolffe didn't remove his hand from Karina's.
"Yeah, and they seem pretty nice." Karina grabbed a tray once they had entered the cafeteria. "Warthog seems to like them too."
Wolffe studied Warthog and what he assumed to be the new mechanic, noting how Warthog was laughing at something they said. "He certainly does."
Karina chose a table and sat down. Wolffe settled across from her.
"Is the cadet's training almost done?" Karina asked, wondering when they'd be leaving Kamino.
"They're doing good, so they might be done by next month." Wolffe tried not to focus on how pretty her eyes were.
"Do you think we'll get to go to a beach planet soon?" Karina's questioned excitedly. She shifted in her seat, brushing Wolffe's knee with her own.
"I'm not sure. You'd have to ask the general," Wolffe told her. "But he's currently on Coruscant."
Karina fiddled with her utensil. "I really want to see a beach." She looked at him with a lopsided grin, the corners of her eyes wrinkling. "Have you ever seen one?"
Wolffe was definitely not thinking about how great her smile was. "Uh, I've never really had a chance to go on a vacation to the beach. The war keeps me busy."
"One day I'm going to go to the beach," Karina confidently said, her expression turning into one of determination. She nudged his shoulder. "You could come if you wanted."
"Really?"
"Yeah, you all can come! Sinker will probably bury Comet in the sand, though." Karina laughed at the mental picture that caused. "Why wouldn't I let all my friends come to the beach with me?"
Wolffe's smile faded. "Right. It'd be weird not to invite all your friends."
"Do you think Stunner would come to the beach too?" Karina tilted her head. "He doesn't like swimming, so maybe he could stay in the sand."
Wolffe cleared his throat, breaking her from her thoughts. "I have to go now. The cadets are going early today to try and lecture me about me late. I caught wind of it and now I'm going to surprise them by being early to them being early."
"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Karina said, smothering her smile.
"It won't be stupid when they realize I'm always two steps ahead." Wolffe stood and took his empty tray with him as he left.
Karina laughed under her breath, shaking her head slightly.
Why did she like him if he was so ridiculous?
Wolffe settled in his office after a long training session with the cadets. He slumped in his chair and considered just sleeping there, but he decided against it. He had things to do.
Wolffe ficked on his datapad, scrolling through countless notifications before getting to the one finalizing Deto's termination.
Alone in his office, he let a giddy laugh out, filled with glee that Deto had been fired. He remembered the new mechanic and realized he'd never gotten their name.
He checked the roster for the 104th's newest mechanic, frowning as he scrolled down the list. He eventually reached the mechanic section and cocked his head.
Strange.
It said the mechanic was still on their way.
He brushed it off as a glitch in the system, clicking on their name.
The picture that greeted him, however, was not the Twi'lek he had seen talking with Warthog. A middle aged Zabrek stared back at him from the screen, eyes forever closed in an unfortunately timed blink.
Wolffe suddenly had a sinking feeling in his stomach.
Because Kamino was so crowded, no one batted an eye at a stranger they'd never seen walking down the hallways. Kamino was a busy place, filled with busy people who couldn't remember everyone they saw.
Before jumping to any conclusions, Wolffe wanted to confirm his suspicions. He opened the Kamino airspace log and checked for any out of the ordinary sightings. Anything that might hint at an intruder.
But he found nothing.
There were only scheduled ships on this list.
Wolffe was about to put the datapad down when something caught his eye.
A ship thought to be missing had turned up in the log.
Wolffe checked the security feed to see the Twi'lek walk off the ship two rotations ago, peering around and tucking a blaster away.
That sinking feeling turned into nausea to Wolffe's gut and he shot to his feet, bolting out the door.
Karina glanced up from her datapad at a knock at the door. She tucked her device under the pillow and opened the door, smiling at Vornia.
"Hello! What can I do for you?" Karina stepped aside, allowing Vornia to enter her room.
"I couldn't find my room," Vornia sheepishly said.
"Oh, I can help you find it!" Karina offered.
Vornia glanced around Karina's room. "That's very kind of you, but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out first."
"Sure!" Karina enthusiastically replied.
"How'd you end up in the GAR?" Vornia conversationally asked.
"It's a long story." Karina waved her hands in the air. "I don't want to bore you."
"I like long stories," Vornia pressed. They toyed with a bracelet on their wrist, playing with the purple beads.
"Um, Wol- Commander Wolffe guarded me on my home-planet, and when things got bad, I joined," Karina summarized, using Wolffe's official title so Vornia would know who she was talking about. "The GAR was a good way out of a bad situation."
"And your parents were okay with you leaving?" Vornia asked, dropping their hands to their sides.
"They didn't really know," Karina said. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the conversation. "Anyway, are you excited to-"
"You just never told your parents?" Vornia interrupted.
"I-"
"My parents would've killed me." Vornia chuckled. "Well, they would've tried. It's not like they could, though."
"You-"
"So, how's life on Kamino?" Vornia asked.
"It's alright. I have plenty of friends." Karina relaxed partially.
"Do people stay up late here?" Vornia pondered, gazing at Karina curiously.
"Not really. Most people get up early for training and stuff," Karina responded. "So most people are in bed before midnight."
Vornia grinned. "Nice."
"What?" Karina tilted her head.
Vornia reached out and grazed a finger along Karina's jaw. "You look so much like your portraits."
Karina tensed and tried to get out the door, but Vornia grasped her ankles, dragging her back.
"Where do you think you're going?" Vornia sneered, sliding their bracelet off. They popped one of the beads off, holding it to Karina's lips.
Karina struggled, landing a hit to Vornia's abdomen. "No! Let me go!"
Vornia grunted at the blow, their grip loosening for a fraction of a second. Karina used that moment to scramble away, but was tackled again.
"Quit fighting! You're only making this worse for yourself!" Vornia hissed, forcing Karina's mouth open.
Karina tried to bite them, but they yanked their hand away. Vornia applied pressure to Karina's throat, cutting off her supply of air.
Vornia forced one of the beads into Karina's mouth, pinching her nose shut until she swallowed it. "There. That'll take care of you real quick."
Karina thrashed, twisting from Vornia's grip. She managed to get to the door and pressed the button to open it, sprinting into the hallway. Karina ran as fast as she could for Wolffe's room because it was the closest place she might be able to get help.
Karina hammered on his door, tears streaming down her face. "Wolffe! Wolffe, please!"
Vornia cocked their head, pasting a fake pout on their lips. "For such a crowded city, Kamino is empty at night."
"Please," Karina whispered to the door, hitting it with her palm one last time.
"Is no one helping you?" Vornia mocked.
Karina made a final attempt at escaping, aiming a punch at Vornia.
Vornia sidestepped, holding out a leg. Karina tripped over it and fell onto her face.
"I can see it start to take effect," Vornia observed. "I'm very good with poisons. I learned from the best. I learned from a Separatist General."
Karina looked up at them with glossy eyes. "Let me guess, you're taking me to my parents?"
"Correct." Vornia looped their arms through hers, dragging her down the halls.
Karina was limp, barely holding onto consciousness. Everything was swimming, and her last thought before she passed out was:
I didn't turn my datapad off. They're gonna find the books.